Endocarditis Trends Over 15 Years

In 2007, U.S. guidelines for antibiotic prophylaxis of endocarditis became much more restrictive. Investigators have now assessed whether the incidence and etiology of endocarditis changed following this major revision in the recommendations. The study was performed using information on 75,829 patients hospitalized with their first episode of endocarditis in California and New York State from 1998 through 2013.

During this time period, the annual incidence of endocarditis was stable (between 7.6 and 7.8 per 100,000 persons). In addition, the incidence of endocarditis caused by oral streptococci did not increase. However, the types of endocarditis shifted during the study. The proportion of patients with prosthetic valve endocarditis increase…